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March 19, 2024

43rd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2024-Mar-19 (PDF)

L134 - Tue 19 Mar 2024 / Mar 19 mar 2024

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 19 March 2024 Mardi 19 mars 2024

Orders of the Day

Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 visant à oeuvrer pour les travailleurs, quatre

Members’ Statements

Seniors

Fauzia Mazhar

Sault College Cougars women’s hockey team

Northern Bands Hockey Tournament

World Wheelchair Curling Championship

House of Commons resolution

Mitchell Clapperton

South Coast Special Needs Kids Inc. sledge hockey match

Lunar new year

Lambton College Lions women’s basketball team

Introduction of Visitors

Legislative pages

Visitors’ galleries

Question Period

Health care

Health care

Government accountability

Taxation

Northern health services

Taxation

Health care

Health care

Taxation

Health care

Tenant protection

Taxation

Beverage alcohol sales

Taxation

Health care

Introduction of Bills

Building Universal and Inclusive Land Development in Ontario Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 visant un aménagement foncier universel et inclusif en Ontario

Petitions

Energy policies

Health care

Labour legislation

Health care

Health care

Environmental protection

Cancer treatment

Orders of the Day

Supply Act, 2024 / Loi de crédits de 2024

Supply Act, 2024 / Loi de crédits de 2024

Notice of dissatisfaction

Nowruz

Private Members’ Public Business

Orthodox Christian Week Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur la Semaine des chrétiens orthodoxes

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Next, we’ll have a moment of silence for inner thought and personal reflection.

Orders of the Day

Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 visant à oeuvrer pour les travailleurs, quatre

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 18, 2024, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 149,

An Act to amend various statutes with respect to employment and labour and other matters / Projet de loi 149, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’emploi, le travail et d’autres questions.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate? Further debate? Further debate?

Mr. Piccini has moved third reading of Bill 149,

An Act to amend various statutes with respect to employment and labour and other matters.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Orders of the day?

Mr. Trevor Jones: Good morning, Speaker. No further business.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): There being no further business at this time, this House stands in recess until 10:15.

The House recessed from 0903 to 1015.

Members’ Statements

Seniors

Mr. Billy Pang: Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to share my recent work aimed at enhancing the well-being and engagement of our cherished senior population. Our government’s unwavering commitment to seniors’ welfare is evident through initiatives fostering inclusion and community involvement, facilitated by a range of grants.

With the success of this workshop, I look forward to delving deeper into topics of interest to stakeholders in Markham–Unionville and organizing more workshops of a similar nature in the future. Their contributions to our community are invaluable, and it is our collective duty to ensure our seniors’ continued well-being and prosperity.

Fauzia Mazhar

Ms. Catherine Fife: Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the International Women’s Day celebration with the Coalition of Muslim Women of K-W. The event brought together a diverse group of women to celebrate and learn from each other.

Founder and leader of the coalition, Fauzia Mazhar, shared with me how she dreamed of building this community since 2010. It was wonderful to witness her dream come to life and share that experience with her.

Fauzia’s story is truly remarkable. She arrived from Pakistan in 2000 and gave so much of herself to others to ensure bonds were built, both within her home as a mother and in her community as a leader. Then, in 2019, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. In 2022, when she had finally recovered, she was involved in a near-death collision. The impact caused life-threatening injuries to her head and spinal cord, leaving her in a wheelchair, but that did not stop her.

Fauzia’s leadership and dedication to the community are truly inspiring. She has brought together some amazing female leaders, and our community is stronger because of them. Her work in promoting gender equality, cultural diversity and women’s rights is commendable. The celebration was a reminder of the strength and resilience of women, especially in the face of challenges and discrimination.

Fauzia’s efforts are making a significant difference in the lives of women in the Kitchener-Waterloo community. The work of these women of the coalition is a shining example of the positive change that can be achieved through advocacy and empowerment.

Thank you, Fauzia, and thank you to the Coalition of Muslim Women.

Sault College Cougars women’s hockey team

Mr. Ross Romano: It’s with some excitement that I’m here this morning to provide some words of congratulations to our Sault Ste. Marie Sault College Cougars women’s hockey team who, on Saturday, March 16, won their second national title in consecutive years with a 3-0 victory over the Assiniboine Community College Cougars at the American Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s Division 2 national championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

During the championship game, Emma Lee paced the offence with two goals, with Materia Land adding an insurance marker in the third. The Cougars goalie, Farrah Farstad, stopped 22 shots for the shutout.

There is a history between the Cougar squads, as the Brandon-based Cougars team had handed Sault College their only loss this season in a 4-1 setback at the Northern Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on January 20, breaking the team’s one-and-a-half-year winning streak. That is correct; they had a one-and-a-half-year winning streak. The Brandon-based team did defeat them and break the winning streak, but ultimately, our Cougars still managed to come out on top in the finals and won their second national title.

The Cougars had gone 31-0-0 in winning their first ACHA title last season and started this season with 16 wins and a tie through 17 games, until that loss that I referenced. The Cougars went 3-0 in division pool D, with wins over Mercyhurst University, the United States Naval Academy and Northeastern University. I just want to offer them great congratulations for their second-year-in-a-row victory.

Northern Bands Hockey Tournament

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Last week, I participated in one of my favourite events of the year, the Northern Bands Hockey Tournament in Dryden, Ontario. Year after year, this tournament brings hockey players, families, friends and fans across the north together to share their love of hockey.

People in Kiiwetinoong face challenges, barriers just to even play hockey. While artificial hockey rinks and hockey leagues are the norm across Ontario, most of the communities in Kiiwetinoong do not have organized hockey leagues because they do not have artificial ice and rely on outdoor rinks to play.

But hockey plays an important role for many people as we fight the ongoing mental health and suicide crisis in the north. Hockey supports our physical health and wellness. It is a lifeline for our mental health. Hockey is suicide prevention. Also, Northern Bands Hockey Tournament brings our nations together through sport. We reunited with each other, we are united with each other, celebrated, and cheered for all the hockey talent from the north.

There were 44 teams participating. At this time, I want to congratulate the A side champions, the Michikan Lake Mavericks; the B side champions, KI Native Wings; and the C side champions, Cat Lake Snipers on their championships. And to all the teams: Make sure you get in shape for next year. Meegwetch.

World Wheelchair Curling Championship

Ms. Laurie Scott: It is my pleasure today to stand today and congratulate Team Canada for earning a silver medal at the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Championship. The annual tournament took place from March 2 to 9 in South Korea and featured a total of 12 participating countries.

From the round robin to the playoffs, the team fought hard, but fell 6-2 to Norway in the championship round. This is the second straight silver medal for the team and their third in the last four years.

I wanted to give a special shout-out to two members of the team that hail from my riding of Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, Jon Thurston from Dunsford and Chrissy Molnar from Bobcaygeon. Thank you to my friend and home coach, Carl Rennick, for recruiting Jon and Chrissy to the team.

Carl has been a wheelchair curling coach since 2006. Jon Thurston made his fifth appearance for Team Canada in the World Wheelchair Curling Championship and represented Team Canada at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, where the team took home a bronze medal. As for Chrissy, this was her first-ever appearance in the world wheelchair curling tournament after taking a break in 2012 to have her third child.

Congratulations on the hard-fought tournament and thank you both for being strong representatives for our area and for Canada on the world stage.

House of Commons resolution

Mr. Joel Harden: I rise pride this morning to thank colleagues at the federal level, who last night in a historic vote of 204 to 117, voted for a motion that was called “peace in the Middle East.”

I want to thank people from the Bloc Québécois, from the Green Party, from the Liberal Party and from my party, the New Democratic Party, who stood up last night to tell our government that we need to be a voice for peace. This is what Canadians have been calling for for months. It’s not easy to march in the rain, to march in the snow, to feel like you’re not being heard, to feel like your humanity is not being seen. But it was seen last night at the House of Commons, Speaker, and I want to thank MPs Heather McPherson and Matthew Green for leading that.

I want to end on a note of great pride from Albert Dumont, Algonquin elder, poet laureate of our city in Ottawa, who told me when I got elected, “Joel, you can use your platform to tear other people down, or you can use it to heal your community and to heal our country and heal our world.” So I want to thank the parliamentarians last night who sent a clear message to the government of Israel, who sent a clear message to all of those involved in a horrifying war at this moment: The war has to stop. The war has to stop, and we need peace.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

Mitchell Clapperton

Ms. Donna Skelly: Good morning. It’s my pleasure to rise today to recognize the achievements of a young student from my riding. Mitchell Clapperton from Waterdown is the winner of the Schulich Leader Scholarship. This $120,000 scholarship is awarded to high school graduates who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, charisma and creativity. Recipients have enrolled in a science, technology, engineering or math program at one of 20 partner universities across Canada.

Mitchell is beginning his first year studying electrical engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. Mitchell is a four-time gold medal winner at the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair. Three of his projects went on to win medals in Canada-wide competitions, and one qualified for an international competition.

He is always looking for innovative ways to solve problems. His first invention, in grade 7, was inspired by speaking with a family friend who worked at a pharmacy and developed carpal tunnel syndrome from opening pill bottles. To help the situation, he created an automated pill bottle opener.

Scholarships such as the Schulich Leader Scholarship allow students to enhance their knowledge and provide them with tools for after graduation.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to seeing the positive impact that Mitchell will bring to our society.

South Coast Special Needs Kids Inc. sledge hockey match

Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady: Mr. Speaker, this morning I want to give a huge shout-out to South Coast Special Needs Kids and the Norfolk county OPP on yet another successful sledge hockey matchup last weekend in Waterford.

South Coast kids is a non-profit organization providing recreational sports programming for children with special needs. Activities include baseball, basketball, golf and, of course, sledge hockey.

Mr. Speaker, I was honoured to play in the game—my first sledge hockey game ever—and I couldn’t wipe a smile off my face. Sledge hockey is fast-paced, and it takes a great deal of skill. I was on the Norfolk county OPP side, and, well, we were severely out-played by some very fierce competitors on South Coast kids. The final score: 5-1.

The game helps raise awareness for the organization and also collects donations for local food banks.

Ron Guthrie is the president of South Coast Special Needs Kids. At the end of the game, he told the crowd how important this event is for the athletes. “It’s like their Stanley Cup,” he said.

More than a dozen athletes between the ages of seven and 33 were part of the South Coast kids team.

Thank you to the Norfolk county OPP officers who participated. I’d like to specifically mention Constable Jeremy Renton, who organized the game. Renton said, “It’s all about giving back to the community. It’s giving a showcase to amazing athletes that are there every Sunday practising their skills. It shows the community focus of Norfolk county OPP, engaging with their community. It’s a great day.”

Speaker, it was more than a great day; it was a terrific day. I can’t wait until next year’s puck drop.

Lunar new year

Mr. Aris Babikian: Mr. Speaker, last month was the best month of the year, not because it was the Super Bowl but because it was lunar new year. Asian communities across my riding of Scarborough–Agincourt had the opportunity to celebrate the Year of the Dragon together with their families.

Mr. Speaker, lunar new year is a time when we remove the bad and the old and welcome the new and the good. It is an opportunity for quality family time, and to show gratitude and love towards those who are close to you. It is a time when families and cultural organizations come together to show unique and beautiful cultural performances and have feasts together.

I have to say that, this year, the celebrations were fantastic and marvellous. I had the opportunity to attend over 35 different lunar new year celebrations. I would like to thank the various cultural, seniors and business associations for organizing these jaw-dropping celebrations full of food, performances and games. It is events like these that make Ontario a truly multicultural and vibrant province.

I also had the opportunity to organize my first lunar new year celebration in my riding, where over 400 people attended. It was truly heartwarming for me to see the community come together and people from different cultures come to celebrate the lunar new year together as one big family.

Lambton College Lions women’s basketball team

Mr. Robert Bailey: I’m pleased to rise today and update the members of this House on the historic success of the Lambton College women’s basketball team who, this past weekend, captured the silver medal at the Canadian College Athletic Association’s national championship in Lloydminster, Alberta.

Described by their coach, Janine Day, as a team of firsts, this year’s team delivered a season for the ages for Lambton College, including finishing on top of the Ontario west division standings for the first time; securing home court advantage for the provincial championship for the first time; defeating the number-two-ranked team in the country and winning the provincial championship for the very first time; earning a berth in the national championship for the first time; and playing in a national championship game for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, on many occasions, I’ve stood in the House and spoke about the best-in-class education and experience that students receive at Lambton College. In turn, those students are using that education and experience to do amazing things right across the country. Lambton College is truly a centre of innovation and excellence within our province. Congratulations to everyone at Lambton College on such a fantastic season. Let’s go, Lions.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our member’s statements for this morning.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Tom Rakocevic: I’m proud to welcome my son Aleksandar Rakocevic who’s here in support of his father today for his Orthodox Christian week bill.

Mr. Robert Bailey: It’s my pleasure today to introduce in the gallery members of the Ontario Duty Free Association, who will host at noon hour for a reception. In the presence there are Tania Lee, president of the Ontario Duty Free Association, Chris Foster, Jim Pearce, Jeff Butler and Mike Maskery. Please come out at 228, 2:30, and have a chance to say hello to them all.

Hon. Andrea Khanjin: It gives me great pleasure to introduce Nicole Bowman from the great riding of Barrie–Innisfil. She’s also the mother of the fabulous page Anne Bowman. Welcome to your House.

Hon. Doug Downey: Although not an introduction of visitor, I just wanted to share and send condolences to the passing of Roy McMurtry, the former Attorney General, High Commissioner and then Chief Justice of Ontario.

Hon. Todd J. McCarthy: I’d like to introduce and welcome to the House today Ms. Karey Anne Large, the executive director of the Scugog Chamber of Commerce, and her son Nolan. Welcome to the House.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I’d like to introduce some incredibly young, talented leaders who are with us from the Shevet Hermon-Friends of Israel Scouts. These are young volunteers making a difference in our community and country. We welcome you. We thank you for your courage. Welcome to the peoples’ House.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Introduction of visitors?

I’ll recognize the member for Ottawa South on a point of order.

Mr. John Fraser: Point of order, Mr. Speaker: I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 67, the time for debate on Bill 174, Supply Act, be allocated as follows: 56 minutes to each of the recognized parties and eight minutes to the independent members as a group.

It would be great for the 15 members of the independents to be able to discuss how the government is spending the people’s money.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Ottawa South is seeking unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 67, the time for debate on Bill 174, Supply Act, be allocated as follows: 56 minutes to each of the recognized parties and eight minutes to the independent members as a group. Agreed? I heard a no.

Legislative pages

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Next, I’m going to ask our pages to assemble for their introductions.

It is my great pleasure to introduce this group of legislative pages: from the riding of Sarnia–Lambton, Ahmed Arif; from the riding of Etobicoke North, Krishna Bhargava; from the riding of Essex, Parker Booth; from Barrie–Innisfil, Anne Bowman; from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, Julian Chapin-Ker; from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, Emily Charbonneau; from Markham–Unionville, Tyler Chow; from Ottawa Centre, Christopher Falkner; from Chatham-Kent–Leamington, Alyssa Geene; from Simcoe–Grey, Korel Gogceloglu; from Guelph, Chase Hipel; from Parkdale–High Park, Olivia Jeens; from London West, Bhavneet Kaur; from Mississauga–Lakeshore, Noah Lakhani; from Eglinton–Lawrence, Ella Lau; from Ottawa–Vanier, Emma Taylor Lee; from Brampton North, Reyan Naseem; from the riding of Windsor–Tecumseh, Sarah Penner; from the riding of Humber River–Black Creek, Bhavna Prashar; from the riding of Scarborough–Guildwood, Farah Sharmin; from Windsor West, Jack Xu; and from the riding of Oakville, Owen Zeng.

Please join me in welcoming this group of Legislative pages.

Applause.

Visitors’ galleries

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Before I ask for oral questions, I want to inform the members that they have an important memo on their desks with respect to the lower galleries and the upper galleries, as to how we’ll accommodate guests in the future. I’ll ask you to take a look at it. If you have any questions, get back to our office. Thank you very much.

Question Period

Health care

Ms. Marit Stiles: Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier.

Yesterday, this government had a chance to show their commitment to ensuring that primary care for everyone is a priority, by supporting our motion to put patients first. They voted against it. Instead of working with health care professionals, they are making weaker funding announcements that amount to a drop in the bucket, and it is a leaky bucket. Doctors and health care workers say it shows the government doesn’t understand the scale or urgency of the problem.

So my question is to the Premier: Why are you refusing to listen to the clear demands of patients and doctors?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

To reply, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Yesterday, we had an opportunity to choose primary care multidisciplinary clinicians and health care professionals. You chose administrative staff. We are going to stand with our clinicians, with our primary care providers, to ensure that across Ontario, we continue to expand primary care in the province of Ontario.

While the NDP cut by 10% the number of physicians who were able to train in the province of Ontario, while the Liberal government of the day cut physician services and seats by 50 per year, we are making the expansions necessary to get it done.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, you don’t have to take our word for it; the government should just listen to family doctors themselves. They are saying that the government’s funding announcements are “a feeble attempt to address the crisis in family medicine.” They called the government’s announcement “as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane.” There are 30,000 people in Kingston, 60,000 people in Hamilton and half a million people in Toronto without a family doctor, and that is just a fraction of the over two million Ontarians who need access to primary care right now.

Back to the Premier: We gave you the solution. So to the Premier: Why did you vote against the solution that everyone else supports?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats, and I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair.

Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Speaker, I am proud to stand with the Ontario Medical Association, who stood with us when we made that announcement of 78 primary care expansions in the province of Ontario. They absolutely understand the value and importance of multidisciplinary teams. I think of primary care in Peterborough, where we made the announcement: “I am very pleased that the government is making this investment in primary care. The funding of a community health centre will bring huge gains to our community and the significant provincial investment will deliver positive returns benefiting the entire health care system.”

That was the day that I stood with the member from Peterborough and made the announcement of 78 primary care announcements, and since that day, we have had community health care, family health teams and CHCs standing with us and saying, “Thank you for making a commitment to primary care. Thank you on behalf of the patients in Ontario, the clinicians in Ontario and, ultimately, the health care system in Ontario.”

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, the OMA’s leadership have called this government’s decisions clueless. Public health care staffing has completely deteriorated under this government. There is ongoing neglect. There is disrespect from this government that has pushed thousands and thousands of health care workers out of the sector. Hospitals and long-term-care homes are forced to hire agency nurses; that’s costing them two to three times what a staff nurse would cost to maintain those service levels. This is hemorrhaging health care dollars from our health care system.

And let’s not forget, Speaker, that under this government’s watch, there were 868 emergency room closures and 316 urgent care centre closures.

Back to the Premier: How many more emergency rooms and urgent care clinics need to close before this government takes this health care staffing crisis seriously?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I’m going to quote from Kim Moran, who is, of course, the Ontario Medical Association’s CEO: “The OMA has been advocating for increased investments in teams to improve access to care and ensure doctors and health” care professionals “are able to do what they do best, care for patients. There are benefits to team-based care for both patients and providers so our goal is to get every Ontarian access. This announcement to triple the original funding plan is a significant move in the right direction.”

The OMA, the OHA, the family doctors of Ontario understand what significant investment this means to the people of Ontario. It is sorely disappointing that the NDP and the Liberals don’t seem to get it.

Health care

Ms. Marit Stiles: My next question is also for the Premier. Speaker, after repeatedly being ignored by this government, front-line health care workers are taking matters into their own hands. Registered nurses at Brantford Community Healthcare have called an independent assessment committee to investigate chronic understaffing in their emergency department. Nurses are worried about being able to maintain service and safety standards that patients desperately deserve. Access to safe and timely care is being delayed because of these unsafe staffing levels.

So, to the Premier: When will this government implement safe staffing ratios in Ontario, like the NDP government in BC has done?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Speaker, as I hear the member opposite raise these issues, I think, where were you? Where were you as an NDP staffer under an NDP government when they were making cuts of 10% to their health care family physician budget, when the NDP, and the Liberals propped up by the NDP, were cutting primary care physicians in the province of Ontario by 50? Now, 50 doesn’t sound like a lot unless you start comparing that with the expanded population that is happening in Ontario, the growing seniors population that needs to be served.

We have absolutely made those investments, whether it is in colleges and universities, with the Minister of Colleges and Universities expanding the number of health care physicians available; whether it is for nurse practitioners, for family physicians, for primary care paramedics in northern Ontario. These are significant investments that are going to make an impact in the decades to come—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Thank you very much.

The supplementary question.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, I would ask the Minister of Health where she has been while our health care system has been falling into desperate disrepair under this government for the last six years. Take some responsibility.

In BC, they’re taking action and they’re getting results. They’ve seen improvement in recruitment and retention among health care workers. They are only the second jurisdiction in North America that has implemented these same staffing ratios, but here in Ontario, it’s pretty clear that this government is not taking this staffing crisis seriously at all. That is not only having an impact on those overworked health care workers, but it’s having an impact on the patients that they serve.

I want to go back to the Premier again: Will Ontario join BC and become a leader in health care by implementing staffing ratios, or is he content with the status quo?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I have no intention of joining any jurisdiction that has less wait times and poorer outcomes than the province of Ontario. Ontario leads the Canadian jurisdiction, and that is not Ministry of Health data; that is CIHI data that has been aggregated over all Canadian jurisdictions.

Ontario is leading Canada in our wait times. Now, can we do better? Absolutely, which is why I am happy to put our record of increasing access to training to internationally educated primary care practitioners and clinicians against any other jurisdiction, because we are leading Canada.

We now have 1,235 more nurses reporting for employment and registered with the CNO than we did previously. Why? Because we are making the changes necessary to make sure that people have access to good employment, good jobs in the province of Ontario, in our health care system, and we’ve made those changes—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

Supplementary question?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, the minister needs to get out of the backrooms and start listening to Ontarians. If she thinks that we’re doing well in the province of Ontario, boy—2.2 million Ontarians without access to primary care; operating rooms collecting dust. We have some of the best health care workers in the world, but we can’t retain them. They’re leaving faster than we can recruit them.

This government has no strategy to recruit and retain and return nurses to our hospitals and our long-term-care homes. Our long-term-care homes, our hospitals are relying increasingly on staffing, on private agency nurses that are bleeding the system dry.

I want to go back to the Premier again. How many more emergency rooms, how many more urgent care centres have to close before this government implements solutions that actually work in the province of Ontario?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

I’m going to ask the independent members and the government front bench to stop pointing fingers at each other and heckling while the Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

Please start the clock. Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: The member opposite can throw around all the insults she wants, but the facts actually paint a very different story. Last year, we had a record-breaking 17,000 new nurses registered in Ontario. Nearly half of those are in fact internationally educated. Some 30,000-plus nurses are studying in Ontario colleges and universities, and 24,000 new physicians.

Even the expansions that we’ve made to ensure that we have more physicians training in the province of Ontario—we have set aside 60% of those to be primary care practitioners. Why? Because we see the value in primary care, because we see the value in those multi-disciplinary teams. We will continue to do that work. It sounds like the member opposite and her party will continue to oppose those changes, but we’re getting the job done to make sure that people have access to multidisciplinary teams and primary care physicians in the province of Ontario.

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: I remind the minister that all the studies show that if we stay on this track, a quarter of Ontarians won’t have access to health care by 2026, so we’ll see what she’s saying then.

Speaker, my question is for the Premier. The Information and Privacy Commissioner’s office has ordered the Ministry of the Solicitor General to turn over records of which OPP officers worked at the Premier’s family stag-and-doe event. We know these are the records that the government has refused to share with journalists through freedom-of-information requests. We know the RCMP is also investigating this matter. The Premier has denied there were extra officers on the site, but he’s going to great lengths to withhold the details.

So to the Premier: Can he confirm how many OPP officers were assigned to work at his family’s stag and doe event?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: As I said in previous questions, we’ll allow the authorities to continue their work, and I have every faith that they can do it on their own.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Ms. Marit Stiles: That was a bit hard to hear, Speaker, but what was basically said was nothing.

I want to remind the Premier that he’s not above the law, that the police don’t work for him and that they work for the people of Ontario.

We’ve already seen two explosive reports about this Premier’s family’s stag and doe. The reports revealed a deeply troubling pattern of a government that continues to help a select few of their friends at the expense of everybody else, and now we’re waiting for the results of an RCMP criminal investigation into this government’s conduct.

So my question is to the Premier: Did the RCMP have to step in because of concerns about the Premier’s close relationship with the OPP?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Well, I would certainly hope that the Premier of the province of Ontario has a close relationship with the Ontario Provincial Police, Mr. Speaker.

I am keenly aware that the opposition consistently advocate for policies that would defund the police. They consistently advocate for positions that would make it easier for people who commit violent crimes to get on the street. They support the Liberals who have done that.

Look, Progressive Conservatives will always stand with our front-line officers, who do extraordinary work each and every day. I will leave it up to the opposition leader and her friends in the Liberal Party to explain to the people of the province of Ontario why they support catch-and-release policies, why they have reduced bail, why they don’t support us when we want to build more jails. When we want to ensure that our communities are safe, they want to defund police, and they’re helped in that by the Liberals, Mr. Speaker. We’ll go in a different direction.

Taxation

M me Dawn Gallagher Murphy: My question is for the Minister of Energy.

The carbon tax is making life more expensive for everyone. Last week, as I was knocking on doors in my great riding of Newmarket–Aurora, every single door, every person I spoke to spoke to me about their concerns and their frustrations about the impact of the federal carbon tax, that it’s having on their daily lives, specifically their essential needs. They want the federal government to address their concerns and make life more affordable for them and for all Ontarians. But the federal Liberals and opposition parties only want to hike this regressive tax. After next month’s increase, Ontarians will be paying 17.6 cents extra on every litre of gas, costing them hundreds of dollars each year.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the federal carbon tax negatively impacts the people of Ontario and what our government is doing to provide financial support?

Hon. Todd Smith: Mr. Speaker, it’s contemptible, actually, what the federal government is doing in introducing an increase to the carbon tax in 13 days’ time, at a time when people are in the midst of an affordability crisis. As the member rightly points out, she’s talked to members in her community. All of us, I know, have talked to members in our community about how difficult it is to pay for the grocery bill. It’s more and more difficult to fill up your gasoline tank for your vehicle. Mr. Speaker, we need vehicles to drive.

It’s outrageous that the federal government is increasing the carbon tax by 23% on April 1. Do you know what’s even more reprehensible? The fact that we couldn’t get an answer, again, out of the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, this morning when she was having a press conference about whether or not she supports the federal carbon tax that’s about to increase in 13 days. The Ontario Liberal leader needs to come clear to the people of Ontario: Is she supportive of the federal carbon tax increase on April 1?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

M me Dawn Gallagher Murphy: It’s not only our government that is calling for the end of this federal carbon tax. Over the past few weeks, we have seen Premiers from across the country, including the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, call on the federal government to pause that April 1 carbon tax increase. And last fall, the NDP Premier of Manitoba said natural gas home heating should be exempt from the tax. That is why it is so astonishing that the Liberal and NDP members in this Legislature continue to work against any efforts to make life more affordable for Ontarians and not call for the end of this carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain more about the negative impact that the carbon tax is having on so many Ontarians?

Hon. Todd Smith: Mr. Speaker, I’ve got to give some credit to the Ontario NDP caucus. At least they’ve joined us in a couple of votes asking for the federal government to remove the carbon tax from home heating fuels, so they understand the difficulty that it is having on the people of Ontario.

What I can’t understand is, given the track record of the previous Ontario Liberal government when it comes to the energy file, a record that increased hydro rates by tripling them during their period in power, and now seeing the impact that the carbon tax is having on the people of Ontario and the people of Canada, why they can’t have that conversion. It’s not that difficult to understand that this is negatively impacting the people of Ontario.

You know what? They should be standing with us and advocating to the Prime Minister to stop the tax increase on April 1. But instead, the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, said this morning to the media in her interview, “The PM doesn’t need my advice.” It’s her job, it’s our job in the Ontario Legislature to represent the people of Ontario. They want the tax gone.

Northern health services

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Remarks in Anishininiimowin. Northern Ontario hospitals have been struggling to keep their emergency room doors open for years now. The program that allows them to hire locum doctors from southern Ontario as a temporary fix is coming to an end. What is this government going to do to make sure our ERs in the north stay open?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: The member opposite raises an important issue. There is no doubt that our temporary locum programs have been a very effective tool that we have been able to use, working with Ontario Health, to make sure that emergency departments in northern Ontario, but frankly across many communities in Ontario, have emergency department coverage physicians. I will say, as a result of that program, we have seen no closures in northern Ontario EDs in the last year. Without a doubt, it has been a program that has had value.

We are in active conversations with the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ontario Medical Association to see how we can come forward with a more permanent solution. But I will keep the member updated because it is an important issue.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Speaker, one of the things that’s happening in the north is that there is continuous, unnecessary suffering. There are needless deaths. It’s a health care crisis. The temporary locum program was a short-term fix to make sure the ERs in the north didn’t have to close. The people of northern Ontario need permanent solutions so our ERs stay open, so our people are safe.

Speaker, March 31 is 12 days from now. What is the status of this program?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: What I heard from the member opposite was the locum program has been a valuable addition. But we also, I heard, need a more permanent solution. I agree on both points.

When we made additions and expansions in the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, when we ensured that we had 60% of those seats set aside for family medicine, that’s 100 additional seats where people are training in northern Ontario. The statistics show that where you train, where you ultimately practise and where you continue to practise are close to where you learn. We know that making those investments in primary care health care teams in northern Ontario at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is going to make an impact in your communities in northern Ontario and indeed across Ontario.

Taxation

Mr. Steve Clark: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. When it comes to attracting investments, the competition from across the globe is very fierce. Governments are pulling every lever at their disposal to secure investments that create good-paying jobs and strengthen their economies. We know that fostering the conditions for a robust, low-cost business environment is crucial to landing important investments. But unfortunately, we’re playing a bit of tug-of-war with the federal Liberals when it comes to taxes and costs.

We’re lowering taxes and cutting costs while the Liberals continue to hike taxes and continue to drive up costs every chance that they get. Their upcoming carbon tax increase on April 1 is just another example of this.

Speaker, can the minister explain to the House how, by lowering costs and cutting taxes, we’re able to secure important investments?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: When it comes to the economy, we have shown the Liberals that lowering taxes is how you create those conditions.

Now, here are some new facts this year, Speaker: In 2023, Ontario attracted 137 foreign direct investments. That brought in $11 billion from outside of the country into Ontario. That has created 12,000 new good-paying jobs right across our province. In fact, a new statistic today: Ontario has the largest number of FDI projects in Canada, and from 2018 to 2023, more jobs were created from foreign direct investment into Ontario than every US state and every Canadian province. That’s what happens when you cut taxes, lower taxes. Scrap the carbon tax.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Steve Clark: Thanks to the minister for his answer. It’s unfortunate that the Liberals see all the progress that our government has made and yet they still want to jeopardize it with the ever-increasing carbon tax. But what’s even more disappointing is even when prominent NDP and Liberal politicians, including the Liberal Premier from Newfoundland and Labrador, have all come out against the carbon tax, we can’t even get Liberals and NDP in this House to call on their federal counterparts to oppose this tax.

I’ve heard from plenty of businesses, plenty of households in my riding, who are concerned about the increase in the carbon tax, and I’m positive that Liberal and NDP members were hearing the same thing when they were in their ridings last week.

Speaker, can the minister please share with us what he’s hearing about the federal carbon tax?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: We were in Texas last week, meeting with tech firms, and they couldn’t understand the Liberal carbon tax. They asked us, “Well, doesn’t this punish your businesses? Doesn’t this hurt your households in Ontario?” But we assured them, business to business, that we’re doing our part to keep their costs lower. We’ve cut 500 pieces of red tape, saving businesses a billion dollars annually. We told them that they can write off their new equipment in-year, saving them a billion dollars a year, that we’re cutting the price of gas and fuel taxes by 11 cents a litre.

We told them that all of these fundamentals are in place to lower the costs except for this carbon tax. That’s why we urge the feds to scrap the carbon tax.

Health care

Mr. Jeff Burch: Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: Yesterday morning, I was at a rally in Niagara for EMS workers who are members of CUPE 911. They were sounding the alarm about ambulance wait times and code zeros that are happening far too often. They’re telling us that, in Niagara, there are not enough ambulances due to off-load delays and inadequate staffing to the point it is putting the public in danger.

What does the minister have to say to the workers in Niagara EMS who are asking for help and support because they’re working in dangerous situations every day and don’t have the resources or staffing to answer calls on time or do their jobs safely?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I say to paramedics across Ontario, our government has always been there as a 50-50 partner with municipalities. Whenever there is an expansion of either primary care paramedics or the actual rolling stock of the ambulance, the provincial government is a 50-50 partner, and we will continue to do that.

In terms of wait times and ensuring that ambulances and paramedics can very quickly and effectively get back out onto the road into our communities, we have a number of programs that the member opposite, I hope, is aware of, which of course is the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program, a program that is funded 100% by our government and that ensures that we have a dedicated staff member, whether it is a nurse, a respiratory technologist or a paramedic, who stays with that patient until they can get service in their ED department. That program alone has made significant increases in decreasing the number of wait times.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Jeff Burch: Speaker, I can tell you that those workers don’t feel that this government has been there for them. Joey Durocher reached out to my office in Welland. In January, his knee pain became so unbearable that he had to go on modified duties at work. X-rays showed he had severe arthritis. When he was referred to a clinic, he was told the process would take well over a year. He said, “I don’t understand how people can be expected to suffer through something like this.”

Yesterday, this government had a chance to free up thousands of doctors to see more patients and chose not to. What specifically will this minister do to ensure people like Joey can get timely access to a doctor and the care they desperately need?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: At the risk of stating the obvious, expanding primary care multidisciplinary teams by 78 teams in the province of Ontario—three times the amount that we initially committed, because we know that there is need.

We now have, because of investments that our government has made with the Minister of Colleges and Universities, 300 new student paramedics training in the province of Ontario, including in northern Ontario where there is a Learn and Stay program available for them to get their training for free in exchange for staying in communities that are underserved.

We will continue to make these investments while the member opposite, their party, continue to oppose them every time we vote on these investments. But we’re getting the job done, Speaker.

Health care

Mr. Adil Shamji: For the Minister of Health, Mr. Speaker: I’m tired of the people of Ontario getting ripped off by this government’s health care privatization agenda. When the Minister of Health welcomes private for-profit clinics with open arms, that’s not actually a surprise anymore. But when the Minister chooses to ignore blatant violations of the Canada Health Act, that is another thing entirely.

In October of 2023, it came to light that a nurse practitioner walk-in clinic in Ottawa was charging a $400 annual subscription fee to access fee-for-service care. And at the time, the minister told us that she would investigate. That was almost half a year ago, and in that time, many more clinics have popped up across Ontario, like the one in Ancaster that was announced just last month.

Mr. Speaker, her inaction is literally creating a market for health care profiteering in Canada and in Ontario. We must make good on the promise of primary care. How can anyone trust this government to manage our health care system, if it cannot even enforce the basic tenets of the Canada Health Act?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Speaker, to be clear: Twice the member opposite referenced the Canada Health Act. This is clearly a loophole that the federal government needs to shut down.

We have had conversations with the federal Minister of Health saying if there is an opportunity, if there is a wedge that is allowing these clinics to happen, then perhaps the member opposite could pick up the phone and call their federal counterparts, because that’s what I’ve been doing. And I’m making the case that if the Canada Health Act allows these for-profits, then we will be shutting them down with the changes to the Canada Health Act and federal government involvement.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Adil Shamji: Mr. Speaker, it must already be lunchtime on the government’s side, because that was baloney. I would like to remind the minister about the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, which is Ontario legislation that forbids that practice as well, so she can take control of that herself.

Even if we overlook the fact that it took six months for her to come up with that response, the fact of the matter is that closing the loophole, either through provincial or federal legislation, should be easy. Instead of taking the many measures at her disposal to make family medicine more attractive and accessible, to credential more foreign doctors, all the minister can do is brag about the conversations that she is supposedly having with the OMA and CPSO, with literally nothing to show for it. This government is more than happy to make patients pay while they appease private interest.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister stop placing the financial burden of primary care on patients and commit to funding it for everyone so that no one ever faces a fee, regardless of whether they’re seen by a family doctor or a nurse practitioner?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

I’m going to caution the member on his use of language. “Baloney” is pretty close to the line—especially before lunch.

Start the clock.

The Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: You know, Speaker, I’ve been in this chamber a long time, and I have to say that the insults, the threats really are below you.

When I sent a directive to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in August of 2022, less than two months after starting my role as Minister of Health, the CPSO was able to assess, review and ultimately license—when appropriate—the historic highest number of internationally educated primary care physicians in the province of Ontario. So actions do make a difference. We did the same thing with the minister’s directive for the College of Nurses of Ontario.

Again, two years running, Speaker, we have had historic high numbers of internationally educated nurses wanting to live, practise in the province of Ontario. Those are concrete changes that we are making to impact people’s lives and increase access to publicly funded health care.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

The next question.

Taxation

Mr. Matthew Rae: Just for the record, I’m a roast beef guy, so I’ll thank you for that.

My question is to the Minister of Energy. Speaker, the federal carbon tax—

Interjections.

Mr. Matthew Rae: They’re already heckling me, Speaker.

The federal carbon tax makes life more expensive for the people of Ontario. After years of punishing energy costs that are sky high, the Prime Minister announced that he was pausing the carbon tax but only on home heating oil and only for three years.

Families and businesses in my riding of Perth–Wellington that grow the food, that build our province every single month are being punished by this carbon tax. They can’t afford the high taxes of the opposition and the NDP members. Our government understands this, that the carbon tax only takes money out of hard-working people’s pockets. That’s why we fought this ludicrous tax all the way to the Supreme Court, and we will continue to fight it, keep going forward.

Speaker, can the minister please tell this House why the federal government’s selective carbon tax exemption hurts Ontarians?

Hon. Todd Smith: Sadly, Speaker, I can’t; I can’t answer the question. It’s mind-boggling that the federal government hasn’t realized that they’re hurting the people of Ontario and they’re hurting the people of Canada with this failed policy, the carbon tax.

Sadly as well, we can’t get an answer out of the Ontario Liberal leader as to whether or not she supports the increase to the federal carbon tax in 13 days’ time by a whopping 23%.

Or hold on, Mr. Speaker; maybe I can answer the question as to why Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax, is still supporting a federal carbon tax. Every member of her climate change panel is on the record supporting the federal carbon tax, every member—

Interjection.

Hon. Todd Smith: —including the chair, the member from Beaches, who is heckling me right now, Mr. Speaker. When she was a member of Toronto council, she pushed city council to ask the federal Liberals to hike the carbon tax every year—every year.

I know I’m running out of time here, Mr. Speaker, but wait for my—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Yes, you are out of time on this one.

Supplementary?

Mr. Matthew Rae: Thank you to the minister for his response. It is unfair that the federal government is ignoring the overwhelming majority of Ontarians who heat with natural gas or propane and leaving them literally out in the cold this winter, Speaker.

As families across Ontario continue to struggle with the rising cost of living, our government continues to do everything we can to make life more affordable. But the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, and the independent Liberals don’t seem to care about the harmful impacts the carbon tax has on the lives of our constituents. We need members on the opposite to work with us. In fact, the member from Kanata–Carleton is the caucus liaison to the Liberal Party of Canada and the federal Liberal caucus, but she refuses to call her federal Liberal colleagues to halt the carbon tax.

Thankfully, our government will continue to act to keep costs down for families in Ontario. Can the minister please share with this House what we are doing?

Hon. Todd Smith: Mr. Speaker, it’s clear we would scrap the carbon tax, and we fought it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. What we’re really unclear on is where the queen of the carbon tax, the Ontario Liberal leader, Bonnie Crombie, stands. But it’s pretty clear when you look at the people she has appointed to her advisory panel on climate change.

We talked about the member from the Beaches; how about Kathleen Wynne’s failed environment minister Chris Ballard? He helped design the Liberals’ multi-billion-dollar cap-and-trade program that drove up the cost of groceries and drove up the cost of gasoline.

Cherise Burda: She was excited to be one of the first supporters of the Liberals’ disastrous cap-and-trade program before being voted out by rural voters.

Former McGuinty agriculture minister Carol Mitchell wanted to impose a carbon tax on farmers, and she was the agriculture minister.

Vince Gasparro not only backed the Liberals’ cap-and-trade carbon tax; he pushed to expand it to every province in Canada.

And Kathryn Bakos is on the record saying she believes that you have to tax people as part of a climate change plan. Doug Ford and the PC government do not believe that.

Health care

Ms. Chandra Pasma: The Premier promised the people of Ontario that they would never need to use their credit card to access health care in Ontario, yet Eileen Murphy was charged $110 to get a routine Pap test done by an Appletree clinic in Ottawa. Then, the clinic told Eileen that if she wanted test results, she would have to pay another $110.

Why is the Premier allowing health practitioners in Ontario to hold people’s test results hostage for money?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: As I’ve said many times, if individuals believe that they have been inappropriately charged for an OHIP-covered service, they should be accessing protectpublichealthcare.ca. We have a process within the ministry to ensure that OHIP-covered services are insured and that patients cannot be charged for that.

Again, I will remind the member opposite that there is a Canada Health Act issue that needs to be resolved with the federal government, and we are in conversations with them to ensure that that practice does not and cannot continue.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Ms. Chandra Pasma: Well, Eileen is far from the only Ottawa resident being gouged on Mr. Never-Pay-with-Your-Credit-Card’s watch, Speaker. Patients desperate for primary care are being told they can register with the South Keys Health Centre for $400 a year, plus $75 for every half-hour visit. ReVive in Kanata is promising primary care for a mere $600 a year in enrolment fees.

How can the Premier justify this exploitation when we have the solutions we need to provide primary care for everyone within the public health care system?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Well, I’m glad the member opposite and her party understand that OHIP-funded services should be covered and need to be covered. We have a process called protectpublichealth.ca people can go on to ensure that if they believe they have been unfairly charged for an OHIP-covered service, they get that work done.

But I’m also going to ask the member opposite, as we expand primary care multidisciplinary teams: Is the member opposite going to support those changes? We have a number of Ottawa-specific organizations that have received primary care expansion announcements: in Ottawa, a nurse practitioner-led clinic people can access, and we are going to have further expansion in Cornwall, in Kingston, in Perth. We have a number of these primary care expansion multidisciplinary teams that will allow people to be connected with primary care multidisciplinary teams, which is what patients and clinicians want.

Tenant protection

Ms. Aislinn Clancy: My question is for the Premier. Recently, a large group of seniors came to my office—they’re from my riding—and they were upset and worried. Their rents keep going up while the living conditions in their building keep getting worse. Their corporate landlord continues to put off regular maintenance until major repairs are unavoidable, allowing them to apply for above-guideline increases every single time. These tenants were one increase away from losing their homes.

Mr. Speaker, the number of LTB applications for above-guideline increases went up 50% between 2020 and 2021 alone. My bill, the Keeping People Housed Act, would create a task force to investigate this predatory practice. Will the Premier vote yes to stopping these bad actors who are costing seniors their homes?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And to respond, the Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the AGIs, the above-guideline increases. There have been a number of applications. There is a process for that. The landlord-tenant tribunal, as an independent tribunal, processes those. We have doubled the number of full-time adjudicators so that people can have their hearings. If they have issues with their residents, if they have maintenance issues and that sort of thing, there is a process. There’s the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit. There are avenues where they can have some of their issues addressed, Mr. Speaker. I’ll have more to say in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Ms. Aislinn Clancy: Well, frankly, it’s not working. LTB wait times are at all-time highs because they get what they want.

Mr. Speaker, we can’t kick this issue further down the road. Last year, our province saw an unprecedented exodus of young people, people between the ages of 25 and 35. Fifty thousand people left the province last year. This is our skilled labour. Our children, our siblings, our friends are leaving the province in search of something better. The harm isn’t just to communities and families; the harm is to our economy. We are hemorrhaging skilled labour as quickly as we are hemorrhaging affordable units.

Speaker, this government’s failure to protect renters is hurting every single one of us. Again, will the Premier say yes to keeping people housed and no to tenants being gouged by supporting my bill?

Hon. Doug Downey: We are working very hard so that we are actually getting the numbers down at the Landlord and Tenant Board. And, in fact, complaints are down over 30% because we’re working through the backlog that was created through COVID, partly due to the fact that we stopped any evictions during that period. We were keeping people housed and safe during that entire time, Mr. Speaker.

Now, what is causing grief for tenants is the cost of everything, and the cost of everything is tied to the carbon tax. In 13 days, it’s going up 23%. If they’re worried about people being housed and fed, they need to look at the costs and the things that go into those costs. We would ask that they stand with us to ask the federal government to axe the tax.

Taxation

Mr. Dave Smith: My question is for the Minister of Finance. The carbon tax is making life more difficult for Ontarians. The Bank of Canada’s governor has said that the impact of the carbon tax is actually four times greater than his previous estimates. People in my riding of Peterborough–Kawartha tell me that this regressive tax is causing unnecessary harm to their household budgets. It’s raising the price of everything, from filling up their cars to heating their homes.

Speaker, the people of Ontario have had enough of this carbon tax. Our government must continue to stand with them and call on the federal Liberals to eliminate the tax. Can the minister please speak to the damage this carbon tax has and why the federal government must end this regressive measure?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member for that question. Now is not the time for a punitive, costly tax that is making life more unaffordable for the people here and across the country. We saw provincial Liberal members refuse to support a motion to eliminate the carbon tax and make goods more affordable across the province. We heard the Liberal member for Kanata–Carleton say that the vast majority of Ontario households are better off with a carbon price, in spite of all the evidence shown to the contrary.

In fact, the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, was just interviewed again on CTV; eight times she couldn’t deny the federal carbon tax. She couldn’t deny whether she would support it or not and she doubled down again in her press conference, propping up the federal Liberal government, Mr. Speaker.

The queen of the carbon tax and her members need to pick a side. It’s time for all parties to join us and agree that this federal carbon tax needs to be eliminated.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Dave Smith: Thank you to the minister for that answer. The carbon tax is hurting the economy and driving up prices in Ontario and across the entire country. Not only is it hiking our energy and gas bills, but also the cost of food, housing and more. Speaker, in my riding, in Apsley, they haven’t had a grocery store for almost two years because it burnt. They have to travel 40 kilometres just to get groceries. That’s not optional. The carbon tax makes life harder for them.

Unlike the NDP and the independent Liberals, our government will continue to stand up for Ontarians and ensure they can keep more money in their pockets where it belongs. The federal government needs to step up and do the right thing. It’s time to eliminate the carbon tax. Speaker, can the Minister of Finance please explain what our government is doing to keep costs low for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the hard-working member for that question. We know that now is not the time to sit back and wait, and that’s why our government has taken real action. For the millions of Ontario drivers, we have extended the gas tax cut to June 2024. In fact, Mr. Speaker, since we have put the gas tax cut in place, we have saved Ontario taxpayers $2.1 billion. Mr. Speaker, that’s the largest tax cut Ontarians have seen this century. Let that sink in: the largest tax cut this century in Ontario.

So while the opposition huddles over there, they can continue to vote against making life affordable. Our government will not stop the work to put more money back into the hard-working people of this province.

Beverage alcohol sales

MPP Jamie West: The question is to the Premier. Speaker, last week the Premier said that the LCBO would distribute alcohol, but it’s the more than 7,000 Beer Store workers that distribute beer in the province. These workers are in the middle of deciding whether or not to accept the latest collective agreement, and they’re voting with the understanding from the Conservative government that beer will continue to be distributed by UFCW members. Before they vote, these workers should know if there’s something the Premier isn’t saying.

My question, Speaker: Will the Premier commit today to include these workers in any future discussion on alcohol distribution and sales in the province?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, once again, the Minister of Finance.

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you, through you, Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite for the question. It’s important to note that this alcohol framework has been in place for 97 years—almost 100 years. It is this government that’s moving forward to modernize alcohol in this province to provide more convenience and choice and competition—97 years; we’re taking action.

And of course, that means that the hard-working people at the Beer Store, the hard-working people at the LCBO, people right across this province, the workers who produce the beer, the people who distribute the beer, the people who retail the beer, are going to have a role in the modernization of the alcohol system in Ontario, because we’re going to get it done.

But let me also remind the member opposite, it was this government that froze the beer tax again for the sixth year in a row. And may I remind the member opposite that it was the federal government that increased the beer tax again this year.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary? The member for Waterloo.

Ms. Catherine Fife: In the words of OPSEU president JP Hornick, “LCBO workers are organized like never before, and they’re ready to fight for the future of the LCBO.” On March 12, the workers delivered petitions signed by nearly 7,000 LCBO employees demanding “a stop to the sell-off of the LCBO by the” Conservative “government and to protect good jobs across the province.” Colleen MacLeod, also of OPSEU, says, “We’re proud that LCBO” workers deliver revenues and “contribute $2.5 billion every year into the public services we all rely on....

We’re not going to stand by while” the Conservative government “puts that money into the pockets of big box grocery store CEOs. We’re going to fight him every step of the way.”

My question now to the finance minister: Will he affirm here today in this House that the alcohol that the LCBO sells will continue to be sold by Ontario public sector workers?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the member opposite.

Mr. Speaker, it’s this government that is moving forward, along with the hard-working people at the LCBO and the hard-working workers at the Beer Store, to provide convenience and choice for Ontarians right across this province.

On December 14, the Premier and I made a big announcement on behalf of all Ontarians that we were going to open up beer and wine and ready-to-drink distribution to convenience stores right across this province—the hard-working convenience store operators who’ve been asking for decades for this opportunity—so that people can have more convenience, so that people can have more choice, so that we can introduce some competition.

Does the member opposite really want to live in 1929, or does she want to live in 2024 and modernize the alcohol system?

Taxation

Mr. Ross Romano: My question is for the Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs.

It’s no secret: The carbon tax is making everything more expensive for everyone, especially for the people who live in the communities throughout northern Ontario. These communities are already feeling the pressure at the gas pumps, where fuel costs are significantly higher, in comparison, than they are anywhere else in the entire province.

But the opposition NDP members and the independent Liberals continue to support the carbon tax. They continue to support carbon tax hikes. They actually agree with the federal Liberals’ plan to increase the carbon tax on gasoline seven more times before 2030.

The people of the north deserve better.

Can the minister please explain how the carbon tax negatively impacts individuals and families in northern Ontario, as well as Indigenous communities?

Hon. Greg Rickford: Mr. Speaker, it is why I put stickers on those gas pumps a couple of years ago, to remind folks where this was headed.

I want to thank the member from Sault Ste. Marie for his advocacy in his community. He’s an outstanding MPP.

What he heard and what I heard during constituency week last week was not just about the cost of everything to our ordinary, hard-working families, but integrated supply chains like steel. Thank goodness we’re coming along with electric car technology to save on some of those costs.

In production to manufacturing, you’ve got significant rises in costs. In the integrated supply chain in forestry, we have woodland operators—logging trucks, pulp mills—cutting board feet at increased costs, which drives up the cost of housing.

In food, all this talk about baloney got me to thinking about how much it costs, from the farmer to the abattoir to the counter—for that cost of baloney. It has all gone up for this tax.

Scrap the tax. It’s a bunch of baloney.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Ross Romano: Again, to the minister: I want to thank him for the response and for his advocacy in the area.

Speaker, it is absolutely shocking that the federal government continues to force this terrible tax on northern communities that are already paying more for fuel. It’s even more shocking that the members opposite who represent these northern communities continue to support the carbon tax.

Northern Ontario faces unique barriers when it comes to fuel costs, and these have to be considered before we impose these further taxes on them.

Clearly, the federal Liberals don’t care about the adverse effects of carbon tax on northern communities. They clearly don’t care about the northern communities at all.

I’m wondering if the minister could please elaborate a little bit more for us on how the carbon tax is negatively impacting not only the residents in all of the communities, but the businesses as well, throughout the region, in northern Ontario.

Hon. Greg Rickford: Mr. Speaker, it’s not just the current members of the federal Liberal Party; it’s previous ones—the member from Markham–Stouffville and I saw witness to that in the House of Commons. Oh, that’s right; it’s the queen of the carbon tax who was in the House of Commons with us then, who now leads the Liberal affiliates across the way.

This is no laughing matter. The Dryden Eagles and the Fort Frances Muskies live 200 kilometres away from each other. Think of how much that costs, Mr. Speaker, when they go to have a sports tournament. Think of Sachigo First Nation today, where milk is $9 a jug, a box of Pampers is $30 for half a package. Do you know what’s driving up the cost of bread, which has now eclipsed $6 in those isolated northern communities? The carbon tax. Flour: $25 for 10 kilograms in those isolated communities.

This is serious. We appreciate the support of the NDP. This tax needs to be scrapped, and the Liberals need to get on board with that.

Health care

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Speaker, to the Premier: Nell Toussaint died roughly a year ago. She was a constituent of mine whose life was cut short by a lack of timely medical care. Ms. Toussaint was a migrant working in Ontario who did not qualify for medical care, even though she was employed and paying taxes. She was struck down by an operable disease, lost a leg, and then had a heart attack and stroke. She died early.

Why are she and others, even when they pay taxes, still left without medical care?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, the Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: As the member opposite knows, there are a number of programs available for—whether they are refugees or individuals who are waiting for permanent residency. Where we have programs—in fact, our agricultural temporary foreign workers is one such example where we ensured that OHIP coverage is available for those individuals.

Of course, our community health centres are another example of where we provide primary care access through multidisciplinary teams, specifically related for some populations, including, of course, individuals who are awaiting permanent residency or here for other reasons.

This speaks to the expansion of primary care and why it is so critical in our province.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our question period for this morning.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1142 to 1500.

Introduction of Bills

Building Universal and Inclusive Land Development in Ontario Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 visant un aménagement foncier universel et inclusif en Ontario

Mr. Shamji moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 175,

An Act to amend the Planning Act with respect to official plans and by-laws / Projet de loi 175, Loi visant à modifier la

Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire à l’égard des plans officiels et des règlements municipaux.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’d like to invite the member for Don Valley East to briefly explain his bill, if he wishes to do so.

Mr. Adil Shamji: This bill amends the Planning Act with respect to official plans and bylaws.

The amendments state that official plans and zoning bylaws may not have the effect of prohibiting the use of four or fewer residential units on specified parcels of urban residential land. They also may not impose a floor-to-area ratio on residential buildings or residential structures that contain three to six residential units, may not prohibit residential buildings or residential structures from being four or fewer storeys in height, and may not require parking spaces to be provided in connection with residential buildings or residential structures that contain at least four residential units.

Petitions

Energy policies

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Cathy Orlando from Sudbury for this petition.

“Transform Ontario’s Energy Sector.

“Whereas residents are struggling with energy bill increases and need relief; and

“Whereas natural gas is no longer the cheapest way to heat homes because electric heat pumps are now much more efficient, can provide all heating needs even in the cold climates, and result in far lower energy bills compared to gas heating; and

“Whereas natural gas is methane gas, which is a fossil fuel that causes approximately one third of Ontario’s GHG emissions and must be phased out”—

Hon. Paul Calandra: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): There’s a point of order. I recognize the government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Speaker, the member is in breach of standing order 42(b), which only permits a member to make a brief statement summarizing the contents of a petition and indicate the number of signatures. As you know, Speaker, reading the full text of the petition is not permitted under any standing order, despite it having happened from time to time. I would ask you to call the member to order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I want to thank the government House leader for his intervention. Is there anybody else who wants to speak to the point of order?

The official opposition House leader, the member for Timiskaming–Cochrane.

Mr. John Vanthof: Thank you, Speaker. I was somewhat caught by surprise by this point of order, but in cases where the petition isn’t overly lengthy, isn’t meant to waste the time of the Legislature, I think it would be beneficial to allow the petition to be fully read on behalf of the people who actually went to all the work of putting it together and getting the signatures. Thank you, Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.

It has been a long-standing practice of this House to allow members to summarize their petitions or read them in full, but not both. My predecessors in this chair have affirmed this on many occasions. For example, on December 7, 2010, at page 4024 of the debates, the Speaker stated as follows:

“When presenting petitions, it is in order to either read the petition or give a brief synopsis of the content. Members may want to give the latter option some consideration if their petition is particularly lengthy or if it contains language that might otherwise not be permitted in debate.”

I return to the member for Nickel Belt to read her petition—or summarize it, if she wishes to do so.

M me France Gélinas: Thank you, Speaker.

“Whereas natural gas is methane gas, which is a fossil fuel that causes approximately one third of Ontario’s GHG emissions and must be phased out because it is inconsistent with all climate targets, while heat pumps result in the lowest GHG emissions and are consistent with a zero-carbon future;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“

(1) Amend the natural gas expansion program to allow municipalities to redirect funds toward heat pumps, including for ongoing phase 2 projects; and

“

(2) Ask the Ontario Energy Board to determine in gas expansion leave-to-construct applications which option would result in the lowest energy bills—directing the subsidy to gas expansion or to heat pump subsidies.”

I am happy to sign, and I will ask Emily to bring it to the Clerk.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Petitions?

Health care

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: I have a petition entitled “Health Care: Not for Sale.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health”—

Hon. Paul Calandra: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I recognize the government House leader on a point of order.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Thank you, Speaker. Standing order 42(

c) requires that a member previously submit a petition to the Clerk for certification before seeking to present it. I wonder, has the member opposite had the petition certified? If not, I would urge you to call the member opposite to order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): It’s a valid point to raise, I think. I would ask the member for Mushkegowuk–James Bay if indeed he has had his petition certified by the table.

In respect of the matter of certification, members are indeed required by standing order 42(

c) to have their petitions certified prior to presenting them in the House, and I would remind all members to please submit their petitions to the table in advance of their preparation.

Has the member certified his petition or not?

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: Well, I read it before in the House, Speaker. It was approved, I guess, before, because this is not the first time I’ve read this petition.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): You would still be required to certify it before presenting it in the House by bringing it to the table and ensuring that it conforms to the mandatory format of petitions for the purposes of the House.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: So prior to—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Prior to presenting it in the House.

Petitions? I recognize the member for Nickel Belt.

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank—

Hon. Paul Calandra: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Point of order, the government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: On the same point of order, Speaker, 42(

c) requires that a petition be previously submitted to the Clerk for certification. I’m wondering if the member has certified this petition. If not, I would ask that you call the member to order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I will ask the member for Nickel Belt: Has she taken the petition to the table and had it certified prior to its presentation?

M me France Gélinas: Speaker, I used to do this—as you know, I present a lot of petitions. Once I have presented a petition and it does not conform, the Clerk lets me know.

Those are petitions that I’ve presented many times—and the table never let me know that it was not, so I took it for granted that I was able to read it again because I have handed it to them, they have signed off on it—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I appreciate it, but you’ll need to get it certified by the table again before you can present it.

M me France Gélinas: Okay. Will do.

Labour legislation

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Petitions?

Ms. Sandy Shaw: I have a petition entitled “Pass Anti-Scab Labour Legislation.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the use of replacement workers undermines workers”—

Hon. Paul Calandra: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Point of order, the government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: The same point of order: 42(

c) requires that the petition be certified. I’m wondering if the member has done that, and, if not, if you could call the member to order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I would ask the member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas whether or not she has had her petition certified by the table prior to—

Ms. Sandy Shaw: I’m not 100% certain, Speaker, but we will be doing that right now.

Health care

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Petitions? The member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay.

Interjection.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: Merci, monsieur le Président. This one is certified.

“Health Care: Not for Sale.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario”—I’ll make sure I read it very clearly so that all my colleagues have a chance. Anyway, I will read it—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to have to ask the member just to read the petition and not add any extraneous commentary.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every second counts.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—10 employer-paid sick days;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I fully support this petition. I will give it to Olivia to bring to the Clerks’ table.

Health care

Ms. Jessica Bell: This petition is called “Urgent Family Doctor Shortage in Chinatown in Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas there is a looming primary care provider shortage in Toronto’s Chinatown area, impacting many Chinese Canadian residents;

“Whereas a significant number of doctors in downtown Toronto who provide service in Cantonese or Mandarin are nearing retirement or have retired, leaving thousands of residents without a family doctor;

“Whereas the lack of primary care is forcing residents to rely on emergency rooms for basic medical needs, contributing to the overburdening of our hospitals; and

“Whereas over 2.2 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor, and that number is expected to increase to 4.4 million by 2026;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“—guarantee everyone in Ontario has access to a primary care provider;

“—increase investment in primary care in the next provincial budget;

“—expand primary care options in Chinatown and other areas with service gaps by investing in primary care, as well as non-profit and public health clinics;

“—make it easier for internationally trained doctors and nurses to work in Ontario’s health care sector;

“—cut the administrative burden on family doctors to make the profession more attractive;

“—ensure the government will cover translation fees for minority-language-speaking groups.”

I support this petition, and I am affixing my signature to it.

M me France Gélinas: I am so glad to present this petition with a sticker from the Clerk on it. They look really good.

J’aimerai remercier Diane Lemay de Garson dans mon comté pour ces pétitions.

« Soutenez le système d’éducation francophone en Ontario ...

« Attendu que les enfants francophones ont un droit constitutionnel à une éducation de haute qualité, financée par les fonds publics, dans leur propre langue;

J’appuie cette pétition, monsieur le Président. Je vais la signer et je demande à Anne de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Environmental protection

Ms. Sandy Shaw: I have a petition duly certified by the Clerks that I would like to read today.

“Stand Up for Local Conservation Authorities.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ford government’s devastating changes to the Conservation Authorities Act and Bill 23 create substantial risks to people, properties and the environment; and

“Whereas these changes allow developers to dig, build, and excavate without oversight from conservation authorities; and

“Whereas Ford’s government would allow the sale of conservation lands—including endangered or threatened species habitat, wetlands, and areas of natural and scientific interest; and

“Whereas these changes will increase risks of flood, fires, and droughts in our province;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to reverse the reckless and harmful changes so conservation authorities can properly protect Ontario’s watersheds and wetlands.”

This is a very significant, important certified petition. I’m going to add my name to those of my constituents and give it to page Krishna to take to the table.

Cancer treatment

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank the many cancer patients in my riding that have signed this petition. It reads as follows:

“Coverage for Take-Home Cancer Drugs.

“Whereas cancer drugs administered in a hospital or similar setting are covered for all eligible Ontario residents; and

“Whereas coverage for cancer drugs taken at home are a mix of private insurance, out-of-pocket costs, or provincial programs; and

“Whereas British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec all cover” the cost of “cancer drugs taken at home; and

“Whereas the Canadian Cancer Society has called on the government to cover take-home cancer drugs, as their data supports that access saves lives;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“To prioritize access to cancer treatment by developing a provincial program that provides full coverage for eligible cancer drugs taken at home.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask page Tyler to bring it to the Clerk.

Orders of the Day

Supply Act, 2024 / Loi de crédits de 2024

Mr. Thanigasalam, on behalf of Ms. Mulroney, moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 174,

An Act to authorize the expenditure of certain amounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024 / Projet de loi 174, Loi autorisant l’utilisation de certaines sommes pour l’exercice se terminant le 31 mars 2024.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam: It’s always a pleasure to stand in this House to represent the good people of Scarborough–Rouge Park.

I look forward to hearing the remarks from the parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board, the member for Mississauga–Lakeshore, and from the official opposition.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: It is an honour to rise in the House this afternoon, in my role as parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board and as a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, to speak in support of Bill 174, the Supply Act for the 2023-24 fiscal year, introduced by my friend the government House leader.

Speaker, this is the fifth year that I have had the privilege to rise in the House to speak in support of the annual Supply Act. As you know, this discussion and the vote that will follow are critical steps towards the final approval for all spending for the fiscal year, which ends in less than two weeks, on March 31, 2024.

It is important for me to note that the government is not proposing any new spending today. Those debates and those votes have already taken place. This House is required to pass the Supply Act in every fiscal year to approve all spending by the government of Ontario and the offices of the Legislature that has already happened through the year which was outlined in the estimates. Members will recall that this House gave its concurrence to the 2023-24 estimates two weeks ago, on March 6. This allows us to move on the Supply Act, where we are today.

This is a very important part of the fiscal process because it gives the government an opportunity to outline the provincial fiscal position for the record and because, if passed, it represents the final agreement of the House with the estimates proposed by the government, including the supplementary estimates tabled last month.

Speaker, as I said here two weeks ago, this process will not be the subject of water-cooler discussion tomorrow; it won’t trend on Twitter, and it won’t be covered on the nightly news. But as we approach the end point of the fiscal cycle, I believe it is important for the general public and, especially, for all members in this House to understand how this Legislature approves all government spending.

As I’ve said before, the previous Liberal government and the previous Liberal Minister of Finance did not follow public sector accounting rules. Some members will remember the Auditor General saying that the previous Liberal Minister of Finance and the previous member for Mississauga South was making up his own rules, treating billions of dollars of losses as assets to avoid recording it as a deficit.

This government was elected to restore fiscal accountability and transparency to the provincial government.

I know this has been said many times, but I want to reiterate that every dollar spent by the province comes out of the pockets of hard-working Ontario taxpayers. This is the lens through which we should look at all government spending here at Queen’s Park and, for that matter, every level of government.

Speaker, Ontario families and small businesses are dealing with high inflation, high interest rates and global geopolitical uncertainty. The federal tax increase on April 1 is also adding to their challenges—including a 23% increase in the federal carbon tax.

I want to take a moment to thank the members for their support for my motion 81, calling on the federal government to stop its alcohol tax increase on April 1. With many of our local breweries and restaurants still struggling to recover from the pandemic, now is not the time for another tax increase.

But there are economic pressures right across the province, in almost every sector. These challenges have touched all areas of our lives. So it has never been more important to remind everyone who is paying the bills and to review how the government handles the public purse with even greater scrutiny.

At the same time, as we look to the future, the most important factor is the resilience of Ontario’s workers, businesses and families. The people of Ontario are our best asset. That is why the government must account for every dollar that we spend. That is what the people of Ontario expect from their elected representatives, and that’s what they deserve. The fiscal decisions that we make today will affect generations of Ontarians to come. This is a heavy responsibility, but I’m confident that we are on the right track.

At this point, I would like to provide a quick overview of our government’s fiscal cycle. I know that some members have been through this process many times—for them, this will be a review—but some members may be going through this process for the very first time.

The former President of the Treasury Board tabled volume 1 of the 2023-24 estimates on April 20, 2023. This volume of the estimates provided a detailed public record of government ministry and office budgets, based on the spending plans outlined in the 2023 Ontario budget.

Of course, the government may also table supplementary estimates to ensure that the government has the resources it needs throughout the fiscal year. And in 2023-24, supplementary estimates were tabled twice: first, on November 29, 2023, and again just last month, on February 29, 2024. Combined, they provide additional funding for the contingency fund, to add flexibility to the fiscal plan, and for new education and transportation initiatives.

The President of the Treasury Board also tabled volume 2 of the 2023-24 estimates on November 29, 2023. This second volume of the estimates outlines the spending plans of the independent legislative offices, including the Office of the Assembly, the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Ontario Ombudsman.

Together, the estimates provide details of the operating and capital spending needs of ministries and the legislative offices for the 2023-24 fiscal year. They represent the government’s formal request to the Legislature to approve its spending requirements. Every Ontario government must complete this annual process to provide each ministry with the legal authority to spend their capital and operating budgets. Basically, this allows us to proceed with the essential business of the government. It’s how we fund the programs and services that Ontarians rely on every day.

And for anyone curious about the estimates or the public accounts, they are all available to the public. I urge everyone to visit ontario.ca/estimates. This is an excellent resource, because the estimates are available going back more than 20 years. The public accounts are available online going back 30 years, to 1994.

Once the estimates are introduced, they are referred to the standing committees for review. These committees then select ministries to appear, to answer questions about the estimates. The committees review specific allocations, referred to as “votes” because the committee votes on each allocation. It is also important to note that almost all the ministries have their estimates reviewed by all-party standing committees, so the spending we are being asked to approve today has already been discussed over the last several months.

I want to reiterate that the government is not proposing any new spending today. The government is only asking us to approve the spending outlined in the 2023-24 estimates, based on the 2023 budget and the fall economic statement, for the current fiscal year.

Combined with the public accounts process, the Supply Act can be seen as crossing the finish line for the fiscal year. If any member should vote against this bill, they would be voting against the programs and services that the people of Ontario depend on.

Speaker, again, I appreciate the opportunity to address this House this afternoon to outline the important process in the provincial fiscal cycle.

At this point, I would like to outline some of the top-line numbers to provide an update on the overall picture of Ontario’s economic and fiscal outlook. These are the most up-to-date numbers reported by the Ministry of Finance in the third-quarter finances just over a month ago, and I believe they give us a clear picture of exactly where the province is right now.

The provincial deficit is a key measure of Ontario’s financial health—because it is not fair to the next generation to leave them with an unsustainable debt.

With that being said, the 2023-24 third-quarter finances project the province’s deficit to be at $4.5 billion this year. There is no denying that this is a significant amount of money, but it is also important to note that this is an improvement of $1.1 billion compared to the outlook in the 2023 fall economic statement. This is a significant improvement, and it deserves to be recognized here because it is a great sign that the province is moving in the right direction. The reduction in the deficit was mainly due to increased revenue and lower interest on the provincial debt. This is great news for all Ontarians.

Of course, to see the overall fiscal picture, we need to look at the provincial revenue. Government revenues in 2023-24 are projected to be $202.7 billion. That’s $942 billion more than the forecast in the 2023 fall economic statement. It is reasonable to ask why revenues were almost $1 billion higher than what was predicted, and the answer is actually quite simple. There were stronger and expected tax revenues and slightly higher tax revenues as a result of new information received from the federal government since the fall economic statement.

In 2023-24, overall program expenses are now projected to be $193.4 billion. That is $424 million higher than the previous forecast in the 2023 fall economic statement, and it is also $2.8 billion higher than the 2023 budget plan. Again, the question that seems obvious is “Why?” Well, there are a few reasons for this increase.

Firstly, there was an additional $1.7-billion investment in health care, mainly for compensation costs, cancer treatment services and other health initiatives. There was also a new $704-million investment through the New Deal for Toronto, including $504 million for transit and transportation funding and $200 million in operating supports for shelters. And lastly, there was a $583-million increase in the college sector, offset by third-party revenue. These three examples where program expenses have increased represent three of the top priorities for the government: health, education and infrastructure.

Speaker, in a perfect world, our initial projections would be 100% correct 100% of the time. But one of the strengths of this government is fiscal flexibility and making adjustments to meet the changing needs of the province. That’s the reason for our quarterly spending updates.

The bottom line is that Ontario’s economy is expected to see continued growth in 2024. In the context of the global economic situation, this is a win. In large part, this is because of the resilience of the people of the province of Ontario, but also the targeted investments and the prudent fiscal management of this government, under this Premier and this Minister of Finance.

Speaker, as I said, the Supply Act supports the spending plans outlined in the 2023 Ontario budget, Building a Strong Ontario.

As a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs last year, I also had the opportunity to travel across the province for pre-budget consultations, in Kenora, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie in the north; in Ottawa and Kingston in the east; in Windsor and Essex in the southwest; and of course, right here in Toronto. As I’ve said before, the 2023 budget reflects the priorities of the people we heard from right across Ontario during this process. It was a long-term, prudent and realistic path forward for Ontario, designed to make life easier and more affordable for families, workers and businesses across the province.

As the parliamentary assistant at the Treasury Board, I had the opportunity to work with the Minister of Finance and with our colleagues on some important measures for small businesses and manufacturers in the 2023 Ontario budget. And I’d like to give just a few examples.

Firstly, we are expanding access to the small business corporate income tax rate by increasing the phase-out range. This provides Ontario’s small businesses with income tax relief of $265 million from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

Secondly, the new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit provides a 10% refundable corporate tax credit to help local manufacturers lower their costs, invest in their workers and become more competitive. Manufacturers will receive a tax credit of up to $2 million each year, because we recognize that it is critical that we rebuild our manufacturing sector in this province.

As the Minister of Economic Development said earlier this month, before we were elected in 2018, companies were leaving Ontario. Ontario had lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs, including many in the auto sector. Sergio Marchionne at Fiat Chrysler told former Premier Wynne that she had made Ontario the most expensive place to do business in North America.

And at the Ford assembly plant in Oakville, where I worked for 31 years, we watched as Ontario lost auto sector jobs, while the former Liberal Minister of Finance from Mississauga South, at the time, told us that assembly line manufacturing was a thing of the past. Well, he was incorrect, because today we’ve been able to attract $28 billion of automotive investment in this province, under this Premier.

Speaker, our government has a very different approach. The Premier, the Minister of Finance and our team have made Ontario open for business again. This government is focused on driving growth by lowering costs, cutting taxes, red tape and energy costs, and attracting more jobs and more investment to Ontario. These policies have produced an economic recovery that leads the country.

Since 2018, Ontario has added over 715,000 new jobs. In fact, in 2023, Ontario created more manufacturing jobs than all 50 US states combined. Can we just imagine that? All 50 US states—we are creating more jobs here in the province of Ontario.

There is no better example than the auto sector, where we have attracted over $28 billion in new investment from global auto manufacturers in the last three years alone. They see the enormous potential in Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy. They’re excited about all the work we’re doing to build new, made-in-Ontario supply chains, connecting critical minerals from the north, including the Ring of Fire, to manufacturing in the south.

Instead of worrying about their jobs, my friends at the Ford assembly complex in Oakville are now working to transform the facility into a global hub for manufacturing electric vehicles.

Again, I want to thank the Minister of Economic Development and the Minister of Mines for all the work they’re doing on this. I was proud to join them both at the PDAC convention this month. My son Joey, a student at the Queen’s University department of mining, attended as well. I know that he is excited about the province’s $3-million investment through the Ontario Junior Exploration Program. This is a program designed to help companies search for mineral deposits and attract even more investment in this growing sector.

Growth has given us the revenue we need to invest in our hospitals, schools, transit, highways, and other key infrastructure. I would like to speak about some of these investments now in greater detail.

The 2023 budget includes over $81 billion for the health care sector this year; that is up by 40%, from $59 billion in 2017-18.

I would like to give the members an example of what this means for us in Missisauga. Provincial funding for Trillium Health Partners has increased by over $356 million over the last five years, from $281 million in 2018 to $1.2 billion now. That is an increase of almost 50% for Trillium Health Partners over the last five years. As I mentioned earlier, the estimates and the public accounts are available online, going back over 20 years. That means we can also look at the five-year period before 2018, and I would really encourage all members to do this.

Under the previous Liberal government, provincial funding for Trillium Health Partners increased from $768 million in 2013 to $821 million in 2018. That is an increase of under 7% over five years, or only about 1% each year.

As former Liberal Deputy Premier and Minister of Health George Smitherman said, “Ontario Liberals really starved health care for five years, and that is not spoken enough.” I want to reiterate that: Minister of Health George Smitherman said, “Ontario Liberals really starved health care for five years, and that is not spoken enough.” And I agree.

They left us with overcrowded hospitals and badly outdated facilities that simply were not up to the challenges we faced during the pandemic.

As well, we know that the new leader, Bonnie Crombie, told TVO that she would have spent even less on health care. Can you imagine that? She would have spent even less on health care.

Under the leadership of this Premier, in the 2023 budget, the government committed over $54 billion over 10 years in the largest hospital and long-term-care building programs in Canadian history. Speaker, $32 billion in capital grants are getting shovels in the ground to build the health care infrastructure Ontario needs, including over 50 hospital projects, with 3,000 new beds.

In Missisauga–Lakeshore, this includes a historic multi-billion dollar investment to build the largest and most advanced hospital in Canadian history, with 22 storeys, three million square feet and almost 1,000 beds. This will include a 200,000-square-foot women’s and children’s hospital, which will be the first of its kind in Canada. In total, it will be triple the size of the current hospital, which first opened in 1958. I was born at that hospital, and both of my sons were born there—and not only that; my mother worked in the kitchen, as a first-generation immigrant, and my niece was a candy striper at that same hospital.

The truth is, we needed a new hospital 20 years ago, and the former Liberal government kept saying no. Now the RFP process for the new hospital has closed, and construction is expected to begin next year, in 2025.

To the east, by Etobicoke Creek—for my friend from Etobicoke–Lakeshore—we’re expanding the Queensway Health Centre, with a new nine-storey patient tower, with 600,000 square feet, and over 350 new hospital beds in a modern centre for complex care.

To the north, in Brampton, we are working with the William Osler Health System to transform the Peel Memorial hospital into a 24/7 patient hospital.

And I could go on with examples from every corner of this province that will provide better health care for patients and their families.

Of course, any new facility that is being built is going to require staff—more trained doctors, nurses, PSWs and other health care professionals. That’s why we are building a stronger health care workforce. Ontario has added over 10,000 new doctors and over 80,000 new nurses to the health care system over the last five years.

And as the Deputy Premier announced last month, the government is investing $110 million to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care teams. Combined with historic investments to expand medical education and the work that we are doing to allow internationally trained doctors to care for patients, the Ministry of Health expects that up to 98% of Ontarians will be connected to a regular health care provider within the next few years.

In the 2023 budget, the province announced significant investments to reduce hospital wait times by offering more surgeries at community surgical and diagnostic centres. This allows hospitals to turn their attention towards more complex and high-risk surgeries, reduce surgery wait times, and ease emergency department pressures. I’m pleased to be able to say that we have already seen the results of this approach. As of June 2023, the wait-list for surgeries has been reduced by more than 25,000 people from the peak in March 2022.

I know that we are all committed to learn from this and to reduce wait times even further, by expanding funding to existing community surgical and diagnostic centres, and funding new centres for MRIs and CT imaging, and other surgeries and procedures.

Of course, reducing hospital wait times is just one part of our vision for the health care system in this great province of Ontario.

We’re also making great progress on our plan to build modern, safe and comfortable long-term-care homes for seniors and residents. The 2023 budget included a historic investment of $6.4 billion to build over 30,000 new beds and to upgrade 28,000 long-term-care beds across the province by 2028. In my community of Mississauga–Lakeshore, this includes the largest long-term-care home in Ontario, which we just opened in November.

Speaker, it is important for me to pause here to note that from 2011 to 2018 the former Liberal government was only able to build 611 beds across the entire province. Speaker, can you imagine that? From 2011 to 2018, they only built 611 beds across the province. In one location in my riding of Mississauga–Lakeshore, we have 632 beds—more than what the previous Liberal government built throughout the whole province.

As the number of Ontarians over 75 grew by 75%, the number of long-term-care beds increased by less than 1%. There were over 4,500 people on the wait-list for long-term care in Mississauga alone, when I was elected five years ago. We had 20% fewer long-term-care beds than the provincial average—and, again, many were badly out of date.

That’s why, during the pandemic, I joined the Premier to announce the Accelerated Build Program, in Mississauga–Lakeshore, to build modern, comfortable and safe new homes that follow the latest standards for design and safety. As I said, 632 new residents have just moved into Wellbrook Place, the largest long-term-care home in Ontario—even larger than the Credit Valley Hospital when it first opened 38 years ago. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine that a long-term-care facility that has 632 beds is larger than the Credit Valley Hospital when it first opened 38 years ago?

This is an incredible achievement from our Minister of Long-Term Care and our Premier, who committed to build long-term care throughout the province of Ontario.

It is part of a new campus of care for seniors, including a new health services building and the first residential hospice in the city of Mississauga.

Another thing: You can’t imagine that in Mississauga, being a city as large as it is, we do not have a hospice there yet, but we will under this Premier.

Again, I want to thank Karli Farrow at Trillium Health Partners and Tess Romain at Partners Community Health and their teams for all their great work.

It is important to note that there are projects like this under way right across the province of Ontario.

And since the 2023 budget, a number of new long-term-care homes have been completed and opened to new residents, including the Humber Meadows Long-Term Care Home with 320 beds, which opened last June in North York.

We all recognize that Ontario’s population is growing rapidly. In fact, Ontario grew by over half a million people last year alone, and we’re on track for at least another half a million people this year. That’s more growth than any US state, including the fastest-growing states, like Florida and Texas—our population is growing faster than all the US states combined. This represents a tremendous opportunity, but it also demands action.

It’s one of the reasons this government has the most ambitious capital plan in Ontario’s history. Ontario’s plan to build includes investments of $185 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years, including $20.4 billion this year alone and almost $26 billion next year, in 2024-25. That is the largest capital plan in the 156-year history of Ontario. I’m going to repeat that, Mr. Speaker: It’s the largest capital plan in the 156-year history of this province.

I want to thank the Premier, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Infrastructure for building Ontario, which was neglected for so many years.

It includes $71 billion for transit infrastructure, including $7.5 billion this year—the largest investment in transit in Ontario’s history. This will continue to transform the GO Transit rail network into a modern and reliable rapid transit system.

It also includes the largest subway expansion in Canadian history, including the Ontario Line, the Scarborough subway extension, the Yonge North subway extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West extension. These are game-changing new projects, like the Ontario Line here in Toronto, which will connect to over 40 other transit routes including GO Transit lines, TTC subway and streetcar lines, and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line. In my community of Mississauga–Lakeshore, it includes the new 18-kilometre Hazel McCallion LRT line on Hurontario, connecting with a new BRT on Lakeshore, which will connect the Lakeview development that is going to have over 16,000 new residents over the next 30 years.

The government’s plan also includes $28 billion over 10 years to support highway expansion, maintenance and repair projects right across the province, to improve our highway network, because we know that highways and roads are critical to the economic well-being of Ontario. This includes Highway 413, a new 400-series highway and transport corridor, which will connect Peel, Halton and York regions to support the movement of people and goods across the western GTA. Hundreds of thousands of new residents are moving to the area every year. We don’t have the highway capacity we need to support this growth.

All of our major highways in the western GTA will be over capacity within the next 10 years. Highway 413 will finally bring relief to an area that needs it the most, saving drivers up to 30 minutes each way.

The Bradford Bypass, a new, four-lane, 16-kilometre freeway connecting Highway 400 in Simcoe county and Highway 404 in York region, will save commuters even more time, up to 35 minutes per trip.

Highway 7, a new, four-lane, 18-kilometre highway between Kitchener and Guelph, would save commuters more time.

Again, I could go on with many more examples.

In my own community, the first phase of the QEW/Dixie interchange improvements is now complete in Mississauga–Lakeshore. And the $314-million QEW/Credit River Improvement project is well under way, with traffic now open on the new twin bridge over the Credit River. We’re rehabilitating the existing heritage bridge. So we will have two bridges going back and forth to move commuters back and forth.

Speaker, I also want to take a few moments to speak about some of the measures in the 2023 budget that were designed to keep costs down for individuals and families across the province.

Firstly, we have extended the province’s gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts until the end of June 2024. This simple move means savings for the people of Ontario every time they go to the gas pumps. It means putting money back in your pocket to help put food on the table or to help buy other essentials to support your family. As Jay Goldberg, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said, “This will ensure that critical tax relief continues into 2024.”

At the same time, we continue to call on the federal government to stop their 23% carbon tax increase, which would add 17.6 cents per litre to the price of gas on April 1.

My first job was at the Pioneer gas station in Port Credit. At the time, a litre of gas was 33 cents. By 2030, the carbon tax will be 37 cents more than a litre of gas was when I first started my job there.

I also want to take a moment to highlight the One Fare initiative, which eliminates double or triple fares for most local transit services across the GTA, when commuters also take GO Transit, saving an average of $1,600 each year. Soon, commuters will be able to travel on the GO Transit Lakeshore West line, the new Hazel McCallion Hurontario LRT, the new Lakeshore BRT corridor, the TTC, and on other municipal transit systems right across the GTA on only one single fare. I want to congratulate my friends the Minister of Transportation and the Associate Minister of Transportation on this excellent initiative.

The 2023 budget also provided support to more seniors with an expansion of the Guaranteed Annual Income System. Starting this July, it will allow for 100,000 more seniors to be eligible for this program, including payments of up to $166 per month for single seniors or $332 per month for senior couples. It is important for me to note that this benefit is now adjusted each year based on inflation.

Our government is also committed to support the province’s most vulnerable people, with an additional $202 million each year for the Homelessness Prevention Program and the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program—a 40% increase over 2022-23. Both of these programs were designed to help those who need it most. As I’ve said before, in my community of Mississauga–Lakeshore, this investment is helping to double the capacity of Armagh House, the only transitional housing facility in the region of Peel for victims of domestic violence. Again, I want to thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for all his great work on this program.

These are just a few examples of the actions that this government is taking to keep costs down for some of this province’s families, businesses and people right across Ontario.

In every budget, the government has to make some difficult choices. It’s always a balancing act, but I’m happy that our targeted tax cut